Athletics Association should do more for Boyde twins

Editor: Reuberth and Roberto Boyde are the best sprinters in St Vincent and the Grenadines today. They have the fastest times on record. One of them was a silver medallist in the 200m at the 2015 CARIFTA Games, and CARIFTA is recognised as the highest level of junior athletics competition in the world. These twin brothers collectively represent our country’s best hope of Olympic glory in 2020. However, they are being sidelined, marginalized and ignored by what essentially is a dysfunctional St Vincent and the Grenadines Athletics Association (otherwise known as Team Athletics). The situation has become ridiculous and quite frankly, overbearing.

Despite their obvious talent and achievement in sub-optimal conditions, the twins have largely been left to fend for themselves. It is a crying shame that these talented young men do not receive any structured and institutionalized support from the very organization whose direct mandate it is to harness and develop track and field talent in this country. Surely, they qualify for support from development funds. What’s wrong with helping them with nutrition, gear, supplies and some form of stipend to propel them along, as they forge forward with high hopes of a full-fledged track and field career? That’s the least we could do in recognition of their potential and support of their worthy goals.

What hurts me even more and bleeds my heart, as someone with a passionate interest in sports, is the fact that one of these twins recently suffered the indignity of having to return home after taking up what turned out to be a disreputable athletics scholarship to a dubious American college. This is a serious indictment on the Athletics Association and a national embarrassment. What ever happened to due diligence? Why did we allow the young man to go through this kind of ordeal? It is a bad reflection on the state of athletics in St Vincent and the Grenadines. We must do better. We must call for a higher standard from those who occupy executive positions.

The sad reality is that the Association seems to have been fighting down these twins for many years now. The relationship between the twins and the Association was strained from the start and characterized by rancour and wrangling from the very beginning. I remember the bitter public stand-off between these two parties several years ago, over stipends for representing the country in overseas events. The request for stipends was only fair. The twins had a valuable talent which was beneficial to the Athletics Association and it wasn’t unreasonable for them to leverage that in seeking to derive some admittedly minimal level of sustenance. This was a small or rather paltry investment for the Association to make in their lives and careers. But even on that occasion, the Association denied them, and further condemned them for daring to defy the almighty powers that be. Maybe the lack of support today is a part of the ongoing punishment. But someone must speak up in defence of the twins and in support of their right to optimum athletic development. We must help them get their just deserts.

The policy of penury that the Association applies in relation to these two young men must be brought to a swift end. We must understand the plight of these twins in context. They do not come from a family that is well endowed. Their mother and father had to work exceedingly hard over the years to provide for the home and make ends meet. Currently, the twins, who are now young adults, find themselves eking out a living in menial local jobs that interfere with their training programme. How could this be right?

I am quite sure that there are other young and upcoming athletes who are suffering a similar fate. Several names come to mind that I will not disclose at this point. Suffice it to say that I believe that the Association is failing our athletes and the nation in general.

The problem is multi-dimensional. The Association has assumed a posture that precludes effective collaboration between that entity and the Ministry of Sports and other stakeholders. In the last four years, the Athletics Association has essentially functioned as a law unto itself, answerable to no one. Not even its membership. There has been no annual general meeting since 2013, neither has there been the presentation of audited financial statements in that period. This is obviously unacceptable and is enough by itself to spark revolt. I propose to say more on that subject in a follow-up article. The Boyde twins, or any other athlete, for that matter, should not be a casualty of athletics mismanagement and generalized poor leadership.

RT Luke V Browne
lukebrowne@yahoo.com